Pro-Lifers, the Tide Just Turned

As you’ve probably heard by now, the Duggar family lost their precious daughter Jubilee Shalom on December 8th at 20 weeks gestation. They held a memorial service for her last Wednesday, which has generated even more discussion than the original announcement that they were expecting their 20th child. At the service, the Duggars chose to display some professional photographs of the baby’s hands and feet. Someone leaked the pictures to the media, and the blog world has exploded with conversations about it.

As I made my usual rounds on the internet this weekend, it seemed that I everywhere I clicked there was someone writing about this. The secular blog world seemed particularly interested in the issue: TMZ posted the leaked pictures, and was flooded with hundreds of comments. Posts at Babble, the Stir, the Daily Beast and Jezebel also generated a ton of responses. [Note: Click through at your own risk, since some of those posts and comments have not-safe-for-work language]. At first I moved on from these posts with nothing more than a glance; I didn’t want to dampen the Christmas spirit by reading the inevitable vitriol about those wacky pro-lifers and their obsession with “fetuses.” But then I noticed something shocking:

Wait a sec…nobody is denying that this is a baby!

I went back and read each of the posts, then scanned through comment after comment, hardly able to believe my eyes. The debate that all of these people were having was whether or not the Duggars had disrespected their child by showing pictures of her deceased body at the funeral. Of the hundreds of comments I read, nobody suggested that this was not a full-fledged child. The cause of contention was the issue of whether they had respected their daughter’s dignity, not whether she had dignity in the first place. Her worthiness of respect was taken for granted.

I have been reading sites like this since I first got online. I have been following this kind of subject for years, both when I was pro-choice and now that I’m pro-life. And I can say with certainty: This would not have been the tenor of the conversation 10 years ago—or even five. Even as recently as 2006, there would have been a flood of “it’s just a fetus, who cares?” remarks, and the debate would have centered around whether the child was even worthy of a funeral.

The old myth about unborn life being “just a clump of tissue” has been under attack since the advent of the ultrasound machine, and now it would seem that it’s finally been relegated to the dustbin of history. And, after reading all of these internet discussions, I know that more than a few people are going to be thinking hard about the fact that abortions at this point of gestation are all too common. (As for the myth that abortions at this age are extremely rare: Here’s a video in which an abortion doctor casually mentions women having abortions at 20 weeks because their boyfriends left, or at 24 weeks because it took them a while to collect the money. Also, a quick Google search of second trimester abortion certainly doesn’t seem to indicate that this is a rare or inaccessible procedure. And, if my math is correct, according to this Guttmacher data, over 60,000 babies were killed after 16 weeks gestation in 2008.)

I’ve thought for a long time that the pro-life position will be the default position in the future. I fully believe that 100 years from now, the vast majority of people will consider abortion morally wrong—modern technology has made it too hard to deny the dignity of human life within the womb. The only question was when the shift would finally happen, when society would finally stop clinging to the antiquated, unscientific ideas about unborn children. Survey data has been looking promising for a while, but the internet reaction to the Duggar photos seals it. There is no question that our society has far more respect for unborn human life than it used to.

Ten years ago, the average person would have felt uncomfortable admitting it if she thought abortion were wrong; in the future, I think that public opinion will have shifted to the extent that it will not be socially acceptable to be in favor of abortion. And I believe that history will point to 2011 as the year the balance of public opinion tipped, and the momentum began moving in a pro-life direction.

Comments

“Posted by Nogbert on Saturday, Dec 24, 2011 10:16 AM (EST):The abortion issue might be discussed more reasonably when the ludicrous Catholic doctrine of considering a single fertilised egg as equivalent to an adult human is dropped. Abandoning the objection to contraception would also help.”

—A single fertilized egg is the equivelent to an adult. It is at the early stages of life. I guess you feel a 7 year old shouldn’t have the same human rights as a 50 year old?

Contraception leads to the destroying of moral and family. You women who forget to take the pill or have condoms break=the inwelcoming of children=abortion,single family moms, deadbeat dads and so forth.

People need to realize that you should marry first THEN have babies.

Posted by Kate on Friday, Jan 6, 2012 12:33 AM (EDT):

I have to disagree with your optimism, Jennifer. What I think it means is that people are getting more cold blooded, more callous. I’ve know pro-choice people for a few years now who admit that it’s a baby and it’s unfortunate that he/she has to die, but “that’s what’s best.” I think it’s similar to the attitude in war where an airman drops a bomb on a city, knowing civilians are going to be killed and it’s unfortunate, but “Hey, that’s what we have to do win the war.” People have always done immoral things to get what they want for ages and justified it. As long as there is acceptance of contraception, there will be justification for abortion as a back-up. At least in the past women fooled themselves (or had to be fooled)into believing it wasn’t a baby, to do the terrible deed. Now, you have abortions with women admitting it’s a child, but going ahead with murder anyway. It really is even more diabolical and chilling.

Posted by Sara on Thursday, Jan 5, 2012 10:46 AM (EDT):

Wow, this is so true. It’s amazing how the “fetus” is considered a baby if it is miscarried, but suddenly it’s just tissue if it’s aborted. I had an early second trimester miscarriage and nobody ever hinted that they felt that I had just lost “tissue”. I refused a D&C and instead miscarried naturally. We buried the little baby without anyone finding it the slightest bit strange as if we were just burying tissue. I’d love to see the majority of the world finally see the pregnancy as a true baby… not tissue to be aborted.

Posted by Jack Smith on Wednesday, Jan 4, 2012 10:13 AM (EDT):

“God’s Truth is Eternal.”
Those who accept Islam feel the same way - Sharia Law is eternal and must be imposed on everyone else.

Posted by Pat S. on Wednesday, Dec 28, 2011 5:09 PM (EDT):

Beautiful, heart-wrenching pictures still won’t convince those among us who have other agendas. I ran into two women recently, one in her 40’s and the other in her 80’s, who agree these are babies, but still support abortion. Why, I asked. Because they are from poor, minority families and they will just grow up to be poor, abused or a drain on society, each responded. So poor people don’t deserve to live? We should kill babies because they might be abused? Both waved me away, and I was left with tears of anger. I honestly don’t know how to reach those stones they call their hearts.

Posted by baddyconrad on Sunday, Dec 25, 2011 11:42 PM (EDT):

you definitely love for less for more detail

Posted by Floyd Alsbach on Sunday, Dec 25, 2011 1:47 PM (EDT):

Hmmm a friend recently lost a child under similar circumstances and wanted the baby to be Baptized and then give her a proper burial. The staff was outraged. The mother & father (both Catholics, both phd. professors)insisted. The Female Doctor was the most resistant. Once encountering the ire of the parents, who can singularly decimate most supposedly brilliant people in a debate lasting only seconds, the Doc relented. (Why do Medical Doctors almost always assume that they are the most intelligent people in every room?) Upon seeing the cleaned up child’s perfect little body cradled in her mothers palm the Doc soon scuttled off to her office. As the parents left the deep sobs of the Doctor could be heard ringing down the halls, turns out she had performed many late term abortions… The Price we pay for our own foolish arrogance can indeed be harsh, but in the end, is always just. What price will we pay? What price Bob Rodriguez, Nogbert et. al.? I often wonder… then I think; “ah well, Galations 6: 7-9.” Though justice is rarely swift, it is always sure… and relentless. May we all make our peace with God before our deaths.

Posted by Mary@42 on Sunday, Dec 25, 2011 9:16 AM (EDT):

I have do disappoint you, Nogbert. Not now, not ever will the Catholic Church change Her Teaching of the Sacredness of the Human Life from the FIRST MOMENT OF CONCEPTION TO NATURAL DEATH. Not now, not ever will She change Her Teaching on Contraception. God’s Truth is Eternal. It does not change with the times. His Divine Law is sacrosanct. But each one of us has their free will to reject Him and His Divine Law. He gave us free will to decide our Eternal Destiny and He shall always respect our Choice. Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year all of you and your loved ones, good people of God on this Catholic Website.

Posted by Rambling Follower on Sunday, Dec 25, 2011 4:57 AM (EDT):

THANKS for writing about this; I was unaware they had lost this child. I clicked on the photos and found them quite dignified and beautiful.

Merry Christmas.

Posted by Nogbert on Saturday, Dec 24, 2011 12:16 PM (EDT):

The abortion issue might be discussed more reasonably when the ludicrous Catholic doctrine of considering a single fertilised egg as equivalent to an adult human is dropped. Abandoning the objection to contraception would also help.

Posted by Frankie on Saturday, Dec 24, 2011 3:02 AM (EDT):

When the world accepts the gift of Christmas….Baby Jesus who came to bring the love of God the Father to the world…...Christ is the Light of the World…..illluminating the darkness of sin…..bringing HOPE to all….when we accept that we are all cherished in the eyes of God, then we shall have peace.

Posted by Don Provenza on Wednesday, Dec 21, 2011 3:06 PM (EDT):

I agree. At both work and in college classes, I find it rare to find ANYONE strongly “pro-choice”. Most people I know are either 100% Pro-Life, or much closer to the Pro-Life position, accepting abortion in only the most extreme circumstances[In reality, rare cases]. Most women I know would never have an abortion, at least not because the baby is unexpected[Although they might get sterilized, soon after their “suprise package” arrives]. I also know many politically liberal people like myself, strongly Pro-Life[although we rarely are mentioned in the media], and yes SO many people at the Pro-Life gatherings are young, and Female. I think Pro-Womans rights, Pro-Life groups, like “Feminists for Life”, are having a good influence[however small] with college students and the media. I am however afraid that our harsh economic times may set us back.

Posted by teddy on Wednesday, Dec 21, 2011 11:49 AM (EDT):

I don’t understand why people would ridicule this family for mourning their child and wanted to hold a funeral for him/her.

I’m prolife and if anyone has a good set of eyes can see in the posted ultrasound photo cannot deny it was indeed a BABY—a HUMAN BEING.

Catholics use their faith and scientific fact to set things straight on their beliefs. Librals base their beliefs on issues such as abortion on heresay and what the media and hollywood feeds them.

Librals tend to act all-self righteous about their opinions and to be so “open minded” and “accepting”, yet, if you try to discuss or defend moral standards they get all insulting….

Librals are going to start eating crow when it comes to abortion and face facts—life starts at conception and it is indeed a BABY that grows in the womb.

Posted by Helen-Kate on Tuesday, Dec 20, 2011 10:19 PM (EDT):

That is why the sonogram bill is fought against with such might! Once a woman can see that HER CHILD lives within her womb, she will have to know what she has done if she goes through with her abortion. Most wouldn’t and this would hurt THE BOTTOM LINE!

Pro-woman my rear! Pro-profit is more like it.

Posted by Catholic on Tuesday, Dec 20, 2011 9:08 PM (EDT):

One needs to look only at the evil of abortion for proof of the Mercy of Our Heavenly Father.

Posted by Mary@42 on Tuesday, Dec 20, 2011 3:44 AM (EDT):

My good people of God, let us us keep hope alive. The crime of mass murder of unborn babies does hurt God. Humanity mocks God at its own peril. He will put an end to this annihilation of His beloved Souls in His Own Way. Evil never wins - God does - ALWAYS. I, too, love Laura Teta’s suggestion: Let us henceforth re-label ourselves “Life Advocates.” And as Kelley Nalewaja states above, God has spoken through Baby Jubilee. She and her parents are His Instruments

Posted by Kelley Nalewaja on Tuesday, Dec 20, 2011 12:30 AM (EDT):

Sorry I did not mean to double post, the original one said it did not post!!

Posted by Kelley Nalewaja on Tuesday, Dec 20, 2011 12:27 AM (EDT):

@Diane:I would advise that you be cautious of the words you use to describe a group of people. I am a memeber of the hundreds of thousands of women and men who chose to be Silent no More. Yes, at 17,I fell to the pressures to abort my child. I never exhibited those behaviors, but I did feel an imense pain, loss, guilt and emptyness. I beleive all women and men suffer immensly from the loss of their children to abortion,but there are two routes 1)To go through the loss process, the healing and the Grace of Forgiveness in an all-loving and all forgiving God through Reconcillation or 2) continue to maske the pain in outlandish behavior or over vocalization of pro-abortion movement, because it is their only rationalization to not deal with the truth that they already know. We must ALWAYS show love, kindness and understanding to these women, as hard as it is. Satan wants us to creare a violile environment on how we treat them, as it fuels his fire. Please know there is not a “type” of woman who aborts.

Posted by Diane on Tuesday, Dec 20, 2011 12:25 AM (EDT):

I’m sorry Kelley! You are absolutely right. How insensitive of me! I should not stereo-type all women who have had abortions just because my sister is like this after hers. I stand corrected! Thank-you!

Posted by Kelley Nalewaja on Tuesday, Dec 20, 2011 12:13 AM (EDT):

@Diane: Be careful on the words you choose to stereo-type. I am a member of hundreds of thousands ( if not more) of women who choose to be Silent no More. When I was young, I fell from deep pressure to abort my baby.Trust me it is a pain, I dont wish on any human, and I do beleive that ALL abortive women suffer from it, and yes some manifest in the behaviors you are mentioning. There are two routes 1) You admit your wrong, heal and take the Lords gift of forgiveness in Reconciallation or you 2) become crazy pro-choice, vocal, agressive, because that it way easier than the pain of the reality of what you have done. I have been married to ONE man for over 23 years now, I have three live children, one adopted and two in heaven. I sleep becasue my Lord forgives me. I take the responsibility to be pro-life VERY seriously. So when I hear stereo-types like yours ( though I do not beleive you mean to be hurtful) it is very painful. Prolifers MUST show love and compassion, and yes that means to abortive women, pro-abortion people, becasue they are only lost and confused, and even Christ did not stop until all sheep were accounted for.

Posted by Jeff on Tuesday, Dec 20, 2011 12:05 AM (EDT):

Indeed the tide has turned and this is what the movie 180 explains: http://180movie.com/

Posted by Michelle on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 9:20 PM (EDT):

December 8th was the feast of the Immaculate Conception!! Coincidence? I think not. Thank you Mary for this miracle of showing to the world that life begins at conception.

Posted by Wsquared on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 9:11 PM (EDT):

Well, hope does spring eternal, as it should. And we should keep praying. And I do hope that you’re right that the tide is turning. Of course, we have a long, long way to go.

I do think that AJ, ADTWF, KK, LP and DMJSD all have a point: there are people who do indeed know it’s a baby, but who will abort him or her anyway (indeed, Christopher Kaczor, I think, who’s written a recent book on abortion has pointed out that nobody really denies that it’s a baby. This much he’s brought up with Kathryn Jean Lopez in an interview here at the Register). It seems that why the whole “clumps of cells” myth still has traction is that it’s convenient. In a post-rational society, all that’s left is What I Think, What I Want, What I Choose, and What I Feel.

Posted by Diane on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 8:58 PM (EDT):

I feel this way….and I could be wrong, but I don’t think so. If a woman chooses to kill her baby, she is capable of doing just about anything! I have seen women who had abortions act very loose throughout their lives. They are often mouthy and aggressive. They often dress like hookers. They do not bond with one man. They want the attention of many others. I do not know how these women sleep at night. They are certainly lacking in a fine-tuned conscience.

Posted by Leticia Velasquez on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 8:55 PM (EDT):

Kelley, you hit the nail on the head, moral relativism has taken over the debate. “Its only a child if its a child to ME.” They say. To heck with science, sonograms and evidence.
That is why legal personhood must be established. Or the unborn are just as inhuman as Dred Scott was.

Posted by Kelley Nalewaja on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 8:46 PM (EDT):

@Chris…I think you are right. The argument of “when is it a baby” seems to be at play. Is it a baby when wanted? Is it a baby when healthy?Is it a baby when a boy or a girl? Is it a baby when there is only one? Is it a baby when the parents are mutually consenting married adults? Is it a baby when you have financial means?

Posted by Chris on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 8:15 PM (EDT):

Unfortunately, I have encountered an increasing number of people who admit that it’s a baby, and infer that they understand it’s murder, but they’re okay with it.

Posted by AuthenticBioethics on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 6:57 PM (EDT):

I also hope your optimism is rewarded, but am skeptical. I remember a few years back, a new, high-definition ultrasound from GE gave near-photographic detail from within the womb. Now, it was said, with this device and such pictures, the tide has turned. And before that was the amazing and iconic photograph of the hand of tiny baby undergoing intrauterine surgery gripping the finger of the surgeon. Surely, it was said, this proves the pro-abortion folks wrong.

On the other hand, I am also optimistic, just not convinced that “this” is the turning point.

Posted by Rachel on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 6:27 PM (EDT):

I really hope your optimism is proved true. But there have been many cultures in which already-born, living babies were strangled or left to starve if their families didn’t want to raise them. And as long as our own culture insists on sexual promiscuity, I expect that many who face the obvious but unwanted consequence of pregnancy will simply harden their hearts.

Posted by Leticia Velasquez on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 5:56 PM (EDT):

Jennifer, I wish the mom who just aborted her baby boy at 20 weeks in Connecticut felt that way. She, despite four pro-lifers counseling her and offering everything from layettes to housing, to adoption, chose to abort her son.
Why? Because he had Down syndrome. Not even my daughter with Down syndrome smiling at her in her photo montage I emailed her was able to convince her to carry to term.I am brokenhearted.
May God have mercy on her and bring her to repentance. She believed the lies of the doctors intent on ending her son’s life.

Posted by KG on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 5:18 PM (EDT):

I had a miscarriage at 9 weeks gestation, and, although having always been pro-life and a strong believer in that life begins at conception, was still shocked at how much my baby looked like…well, a baby. We were able to name and bury the baby at a Catholic cemetery—not many seem to be able to do this—in thanks to our church but the grief process and reocovery was overwhelming to me. Although I feel badly the Duggars are being persecuted for this, I am so glad that they did; their little lost baby has made a definite impact in the world. Great article, Jen.

Posted by anna lisa on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 5:14 PM (EDT):

Oh Jennifer I hope that you are right, and think that you might be.
.
What is *frightening*, is the people who know indeed that it IS a baby, but simply don’t care. Their selfish wants and needs leave them cold and calculating. I wonder if they know how *self destructive* they are on so many *other* levels as well.
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Here is food for thought: Almost thirty years ago, Fr. Paul Marx,(Founder of Human Life International) sat at my parents’ dining room table, explaining to us, what would happen to our civilization if humanity chose the selfish trajectory of the pill and abortion. He explained to us that in order for an economy to be healthy, it had to be shaped demographically like a pyramid, with young workers, supporting a smaller, aging population. He predicted the *financial ruin* of the United States and Europe if luxuries replaced the child. He looked to the third world to provide the workers for our financial salvation.
(But instead of helping to *educate* the third world, much less our *own*, we spend trillions on….)
.
Young twenty and thirty-year-olds don’t seem to realize what these selfish decisions mean to their *financial* future, much less the obvious spiritual implications. They cloak themselves with the piety of a “green” religion, but those trees (which we SHOULD care about) won’t nurse them in their old age, and the luxuries they are insatiable for contradict this. They are sure their IRA, and the almighty dollar will be there for them when they get there.
.
Fr. Marx left us with a saying I’ll never forget:
“God always forgives, man sometimes forgives, nature never forgives”...
.
We have been decimated by forty years of abortion and birth control.
.
A generation is *missing*.
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These missing people would have been at their productive prime RIGHT NOW. Our economy is gasping and groaning. A QUARTER of the workers exist to support the retiring baby boomer, compared to fifty years ago.
.
There IS hope. Yes, the tide MUST turn. We are all connected, and all have to suffer for our collective sins, but with God, *all things are possible*.

Posted by AJ on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 5:06 PM (EDT):

And I would just quickly add that, along the lines of Diane’s comments, this article may show encouraging signs for the US, other nations, particularly the ones that are lesser-developed in terms of human rights and just morals and ethics and valuing life in general, have a MUCH longer way to go.

Posted by AJ on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 5:03 PM (EDT):

To be sure, this article does seem to be encouraging. However, I am inclined to agree with ADTWF, KK and DMJSD. I still read and hear many comments from those who continue to use the “blob of cells,” “its about whether the mother wants it,” and “abortion is a political debate” and other similar arguments. Most abhorrent and frightening of all is KK’s comment “people no longer can deny this is a baby but that it’s ok to ‘terminate’ it anyway.” This attitude is still pervasive in the Planned Parenthood/pro-“choice”/ideological liberal ranks, which is ironic considering that many of these same people also treat science as blindly dogmatically as they accuse us of treating our faith, yet they apparently have no problem with the inconsistency that although science is showing them evidence of life, they irrationally deny it anyway.

BTW - I like Laura Teta’s suggestion: “Life Advocates.” If the other side can try to re-label us as “anti-choice” (and I’ve seen this more and more), then why can’t we re-label ourselves?

Posted by Diane on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 4:36 PM (EDT):

Thats a great idea Bill! I honestly did not think of that, but you are right….it makes perfect sense to ask the Holy Innocents to pray! I don’t know how people sleep at night when they have murder of an innocent baby on their soul. I’m so thankful I don’t have that sin to deal with…as I have enough others!

Posted by Bill on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 4:27 PM (EDT):

Please pray for an end to abortion. God does hear those prayers. Also, I often ask the Holy Innocents for their prayers. I am sure those millions of prayers are very powerful.

Posted by Diane on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 4:21 PM (EDT):

Last week I had three days where I was grieving deeply for the loss of the babies in India. Elizabeth Varga covered a story there about millions of baby girls are aborted or killed after birth. The story made me feel ill. To add more guts to the story….I looked up how babies are murdered in India…afterall they kill around 14 million girls a year. The infant may get slammed against the wall till it dies. The baby may be buried alive at the dumping ground for babies. Or, the mother may fill the infants mouth with grain until it chokes to death. Girl babies cost the parents more so they may keep one girl in the family….and then maybe not either. Varga showed the streets in India where its crowded with boys. We are one sick world of people when so many think its ok to kill their own!

Posted by DMJSD on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 4:06 PM (EDT):

I wish I could share your encouragement, but after just witnessing one of my friends - who has a PhD in biology from a top university - complaining that “clumps of cells” are still a topic of political debate and another friend with the same degree (who also calls herself a Catholic) agreeing with her, I’m having a hard time feeling anything but depressed. The “clumps of tissue” myth is alive and well and supported people who really should know better.

Posted by Kelley Nalewaja on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 3:55 PM (EDT):

As a Catholic-Christian, who beleives with all certainty of God’s providencial plan for us all, Baby Jubilee, had, and has a purpose in her life. She has reached a market, many of us are shut out of immediately. Imagine TMZ giving us the time of day? Baby Jubilee has made her presence known as a CHILD at the very wee size of gestation. No more lies, no more argument, she showed them, “I am not an unrecognizable blob of tissue” I pray that she will continue her work, and that her parents see with perfect clairity and SHARE that message to the secular world,to which they have a platform, Our Baby lived, our baby now lives with God, but our baby HAS A PURPOSE in her very short life on earth!!

Posted by Sarah M on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 3:35 PM (EDT):

This is very encouraging and confirms the notion that when asked in a pointed manner, many people that consider themselves pro-choice are actually very uncomfortable with and unsure about abortion. Like Sarah who commented above, I see this as a civil rights issue akin to the abolition of slavery. It might take a while, but by the grace of God the unborn will someday gain their personhood in the eyes of the State.

Posted by Sarah on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 2:58 PM (EDT):

It took many long years for our nation, with many horrible laws and even a constitutional amendment, to outlaw slavery. I believe that the tide is slowly turning and that “fetus’” are more than 3/5ths of a person as well.

Posted by Laura Teta on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 2:49 PM (EDT):

I would suggest that as the tide turns, we consider a less polarizing term for those of us who uphold the dignity of human life by calling call ourselves “Life Advocates”.

Posted by Mary@42 on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 2:22 PM (EDT):

To you, Diane, and all who can see the hand of God in this Miscarriage I say. God does work in mysterious ways. Through the heart-breaking grief of the Duggar family, He will avenge and put an end to the horrendous murders of the Innocents which seemed unstoppable. All people of goodwill who condemn the mass murders of unborn babies have been praying for a Miracle which would gnaw at the pro-choice brigade’s hearts and guts in the silence of their private lives. We all realize the youth are no longer as stupid as the Merchants of Death wish they were. The very technology they use to advance their evil agenda is the very one God shall use to silence them. He is the Author of Life and they have been mocking Him with utter arrogance. Our Faith teaches us that He is never late and His Time is the Right Time. The blood of the millions of His innocent souls has been crying to Him from the ground like the blood of Abel and He has heard them - loud and clear.

Posted by MGP on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 2:07 PM (EDT):

I was ignorantly pro-choice until my own miscarriage. What sickens me is the girls of “my generation” who find pro-lifers to be “wacku” and think it is OK to insult us. The most ridiculous of all to me was the uproar over the iPhone app, Suri, not telling you how to get to an abortion clinic….well duh, last time I checked they’re called “family planning centers”. Has a bit of a nicer ring than baby killers, no? As a woman, I am sick and tired of the liberals saying that anti abortion is “an attack on women’s health”. Do you know what destroyed my mental and emotional health? Losing a baby at only six weeks. But I seem to be just fine physically and otherwise despite not being on birth control. Acccording to the left’s propaganda, should I not be ill without the use of this type of “preventative medicine”?

Posted by MissH on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 2:02 PM (EDT):

Did you notice the strange way some sites decided to display the pictures? They blurred out the main parts and slapped “Warning, graphic images!” signs over them. Just a picture of two little feet and a little hand holding Michelle’s finger. What was so grotesque and graphic? Guilt overreaction?

Posted by Diane on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 1:59 PM (EDT):

Praise Be to Jesus! Maybe you are on to something here! I hope so!

I read many comments on the Duggar baby and some were pleased with the respect given while others thought it was a money-maker for the Duggars to display the picture and have a funeral. Afterall, many women miscarry!

Blessings,
Diane

Posted by jeni on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 12:56 PM (EDT):

so encouraging! thanks for pointing that out, this would have never occurred to me otherwise :) Keep writing Jen! you’re great!!

Posted by cowalker on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 12:28 PM (EDT):

It seems to me that science allows us to see what a smooth continuum a human life follows. It is very hard to locate one point on the continuum and say “Life begins here” or “Life ends here.” Since humans are so visual, the new visibility of the living fetus probably has increased recognition of the fetus as a baby. However, it might also have contributed to the defeat of the personhood amendment in Mississippi, since a fertilized egg does not look like a baby. We face similar dilemmas at the end of life, as we become more and more adept at resuscitation, maintaining bodily functions on machines and detecting brain waves. I think figuring these questions out is going to get more difficult rather than easier. If we ever succeed at preserving people by freezing, in some cases we will have the same decision to make about them as we do about what to do with frozen embryos that aren’t needed for IVF treatments.

Posted by LP on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 11:46 AM (EDT):

Like KK and Kevin point out, and as a professor of mine often said, “we live in a post-rational society.” The #s of abortions are as high as ever. Post-modernity is a scary thing.

Posted by mrsceecee on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 11:18 AM (EDT):

KK, you make a good point. I think with the advent of the ultrasound, a baby can be seen very early on. I had my first ultrasound at 9 weeks and she was so perfectly formed I was totally amazed. I even saw the heart beating and the baby moving around. Unfortunately to some this just means bad things and they still choose to terminate.

Posted by KK on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 10:48 AM (EDT):

I hope you are right, too. I think the scarier issue we are facing is that, true, people no longer can deny this is a baby but that it’s ok to “terminate” it anyway. Kind of like Peter Singer demented thought process.

Posted by ADTWF on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 10:39 AM (EDT):

Wish I could agree. More often than not, what I hear from people is rhetoric that indicates a fetus is a baby, only if the child is wanted by the parents. The fetus becomes a clump of tissues when pregnancy is inconvenient to the mother. Instead of recognizing that it is our Creator who gives life, they arrogantly believe that it is in their hands.

Ah, well—‘tis better than nothing.

Posted by Kevin on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 9:46 AM (EDT):

I hope you are right, but Homo postmodernus shows a remarkable ability to live with contradiction.

Posted by Melanie on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 9:16 AM (EDT):

Yes! I agree 100%. As far as the youth go, they are very visual so ultrasounds are a huge deal with reaching them. We took a picture of our baby when he was born early and died. We mainly shared it at the funeral but even pro-life friends were shocked at how “human” he looked at only 14 weeks. My deepest sympathy to the Duggars, there is no pain like losing a child. Jubilee is a powerful pro-life witness just like her parents.

Posted by mk on Monday, Dec 19, 2011 8:24 AM (EDT):

The Pro Choice camp’s greatest weapon was getting to the youth. Get young people to accept abortion and you get the world to accept it. I have been to the March for Life. The youth of our world are not stupid. Fool me once…THEY are the ones that realize they have been duped. They are the tide, and they have indeed turned. Thank you young people everywhere! The cream has risen.

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About Jennifer Fulwiler

Jennifer Fulwiler is a writer and speaker who converted to Catholicism after a life of atheism. She's a contributor to the books The Church and New Media and Atheist to Catholic: 11 Stories of Conversion, and is writing a book based on her personal blog, ConversionDiary.com. She and her husband live in Austin, TX with their five young children, and were featured in the nationally televised reality show Minor Revisions. You can follow her on Twitter at @conversiondiary.